Pre-Kenya Trip

I will be going to Kenya, Africa in less than two weeks. Out of all the places I have been, this has been the country that I needed to do a little more before traveling.

First, there are some required and suggested vaccinations to receive before traveling. The required vaccination is yellow fever and you must receive that within 30 days before traveling. They also suggested vaccinations such as hepatitis A & B, polio, MMR, rabies, typhoid and countless others. The total for all the suggested shots was over $3,000.00, so I did not receive all of them. I requested my shot record from my doctor and was up-to-date on my shots so I only received yellow fever ($245.00) and Tdap ($88.00). I went to Passport Health to receive my vaccinations. They require a $75.00 office visit when visiting but if you complete your information online they give you a $10.00 off discount. (I did that to save a few dollars). They do not accept insurance. However, I used the incentive from my health insurance and was reimbursed $290.00, so that was a win.

I would suggest checking with your local minute clinic pharmacy regarding the other shots because they may be covered by your insurance. It is also necessary to take the malaria pills, they offer three types. I had the physician send them to my local pharmacy and they were covered by my insurance. I have to take them a few days before leaving, while I am in Kenya and the remainder once I return.

Once you receive all of your shots, Passport Health will provide you with a yellow book that keeps track of your vaccinations. Since yellow fever is required to visit Kenya, the airport agents will need to see the yellow book when I arrive.

Next, your Kenya visa. This is a necessity to enter Kenya. It cost $50.00 and it only took a week. I had to gather various documents visa application, passport, flight information, money order etc. (You can find the list of items on the Kenya embassy website), and take the items to the Kenya embassy in Washington, D.C. FYI, they close in the middle of the day so be sure to check the time before you go and Fridays they close at 1:00pm. I dropped my items off on Friday, July 26 and was able to pick up my visa and passport on Friday, August 2^nd. It was an easy process and took less than 10 minutes.

Preparing before travel: I have purchased various things to help me before I travel. I am a person who gets bit a lot here in the USA by mosquitoes so I have been a tad nervous traveling somewhere where the mosquitoes carry deadly diseases (Zika & Malaria). I purchased dial soap because it is antibacterial and kills bacteria. I also purchased Repel 100 insect repellent from Wal-Mart as well as several mosquito bracelets. I have tried to learn some of the Swahili language and have been using surfacelangauge.com to learn some words and phrases. Africa does have different outlets so I must take my charger adapter. This will be a 26 hour flight so pray for me.

I am truly excited for this trip and am looking forward to my first time in Africa. I am hitting a new continent so this is invigorating for me. I will update you guys with my post Africa blog once I return!

Post Kenya Trip

Visiting Kenya was INCREDIBLE. I went to Kenya, Africa for 8 days. Left from Dulles, VA on Emirates. The trip was a missionary trip for work. We stayed at the Pavilion Hotel for the majority of the trip then transitioned to a beach front hotel. I spent 3 days assisting a medical camp and offering free medical/dental assistance as well as food, clothing, medications, lab testing, and more to the Kenyans.

Culture:

Kenyans are so friendly. When you meet someone they like to shake your hand. Many of the women will hug you and give you a kiss on your cheek. I met so many individuals and learned a lot about them. Only rich people have microwaves and refrigerators; so, every meal is prepared fresh daily . Some of the Kenyans had chickens, cows, goats, and various other animals on their property.

The food was very fresh. Kenya has 42 different tribes and individuals are born into a tribe. There are also not many wild animals roaming other than small monkeys. You will have to visit the safaris to see lions, elephants, etc. This shocked me because in the USA we have many wild animals like bears, foxes, mountain lions etc running free, but in Kenya their wild animals are only in the Safaris.

Things I did:

I mostly worked. However, when I had free time, I went to Haller Park “Zoo” I was able to feed giraffes and some of the animals were roaming free with no cages.

I rode on a tu-tu to get to a shopping center. There were several Maasai men who were selling jewelry, paintings, and more. You must ask for permission before taking a picture with them. 

Overall Experience:

Waking up everyday to the Indian Ocean was breath taking. The water was so blue you could see your feet. I would certainly travel to Africa again. The food was much better than our food and also the juice was so fresh. I met so many great people and really appreciate the individuals who I built relationships with. Africa was an experience I will NEVER forget. Everyone needs to visit the Motherland.